Research

Research Overview

IBIS has a central interest in two inter-related research areas:

The Northern Ireland conflict and settlement, and related North-South and East-West relationships Research monitoring the progress of devolution, the role of identity and religion in post-conflict change, the impact of cross-border initiatives, and the importance of constitutional negotiations and agreements is at the centre of recent work in IBIS. In addition, as part of an agreement with the Department of the Taoiseach, the institute has commenced a series of annual conferences covering milestones in the implementation of the 1998 agreement.the comparative lessons of the Irish conflict and settlement

There are powerful academic arguments for seeking to place the Irish conflict, and efforts to overcome it, in comparative perspective: the scientific literature in this area is already seeking to address the question of how far there exists an “Irish model” of ethnonational conflict resolution, and the experience of other divided societies has much to teach Ireland . Second, there is an irresistible public policy logic: the Irish and British governments have committed themselves to a very ambitious attempt to transcend the conflict, and are prepared to make a very substantial investment in island-level planning, a development in respect of which parallel academic research is crucial. The installation of a new Northern Ireland executive in 2007 gave added momentum to this need. Changing political and societal realities on the island of Ireland thus give urgency to the need for a new initiative exploring the North-South relationship in the context of the broader British-Irish one, as embedded in a set of increasingly interdependent relationships internationally.

Associate Research Network:

IBIS has an active network of research associates from other universities in Ireland (North and South), France and Canada, with whom we have worked very closely in the past. Several have contributed to our working paper series.

Commissioned research and consultancy:

All enquiries are welcome and should be directed to the IBIS ManagerTel: +353 1 716 8670Email: ibis@ucd.ie